Maid For You 4

Chapter 75

The day after I got lunch with Luke, Princess Calista dashed into my room with news that Lucas had been in the palace and that she had seen him.

"Lucas?" I asked.

"Yes!" she was excited. "And he was even handsomer than before!"

I rose an eyebrow. "Aren't you engaged?"

Her countenance deflated somewhat. "Well, I suppose so, but that doesn't change the objective fact that Lucas is still quite handsome. I'm merely stating such facts."

I smiled lightly. "Alright, alright," I said. I didn't really understand the nature of political engagements, and I wasn't sure if I ever quite would, but I figured I should judge Calista's engagement differently than I would a normal person's. Afterall, hadn't Nikolas told me that he loved me just after proposing to her? "But why was Luke here?" I asked.

"I don't know," Calista admitted. "He was with Coleman."

"Coleman?" This was a surprise. Granted, Luke did exude a lot more confidence now, but I still wouldn't have expected that he'd be eager to see Coleman again. "That's...interesting."

Calista shrugged. "Coleman meets with Lucas's father on occasion, so I suppose he has an attachment to his old butlers." She perched on my couch. "Speaking of which, do you know Charles? His current butler?"

"Yes, I do."

"He's so weird, isn't he? And I think he has a crush on me. His eyes go all wide whenever he sees me and he's blushing and awkward. Once, he told me a knock-knock joke. A knock-knock joke. Can you believe it?"

I snorted. "That's pretty funny, Calista."

"No, it wasn't! The joke wasn't remotely funny!"

"I'll bet Coleman laughed," I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Perhaps he did, but he wasn't laughing because Charles's joke was even remotely funny, I can assure you!"

I grinned. "That's why it's all so funny."

I felt my phone buzz, and I glanced down at the text I'd received. It was from Lord Harry.

"Speaking of crushes," I muttered.

"Who, Coleman?" Calista asked.

My eyes shot to hers and I grimaced. She wore the same sharp eyes and sly smile that her mother wore on occasion in a striking resemblance.

"No, Lord Harry."

"Harry who?"

"Harrison Edwards."

"Ah. He's the son of Baron Edwards, isn't he?"

"He is," I said.

"I saw him dancing with you at Lady Madeline's wedding. He did look like he fancied you quite a bit."

"I think he does."

"Do you fancy him?" Calista asked.

"I don't know," I confessed. "I mean, he's handsome and shows interest in me. I can't say that I'm head-over-heels for him at the moment, but I am intrigued, I guess. Who knows? Something could go somewhere."

"I honestly wouldn't have expected this pragmatism from an overly romantic American such as yourself," Calista said.

I laughed. "Don't worry, I'm still romantic enough. I won't marry him unless I'm in love."

"Good. He's only the son of a baron, after all."

"And I have no title, might I remind you."

"Yes, but you're quite pretty. There's a power in being a pretty woman, Cassie," she said.

"Well thank you."

"Don't thank me. Just as Lucas is objectively gorgeous, you are, objectively, quite pretty."

I laughed. "You are very pretty yourself, Calista. I hope you know that."

She smiled bashfully. "Thank you."

I looked at my phone and opened up Lord Harry's text.

Do you want to get dinner together on Saturday?

"He's asking me out for dinner on Saturday," I told her.

"Are you going to go?"

"Yes, of course."

She tilted her head. "Why 'of course'?"

"I have no reason not to go," I said. "And every reason to go. Perhaps things will develop between us."

"Perhaps they will," she conceded.

The topic of conversation then changed to what was on our schedule tomorrow, and the day went by without anything else particularly noteworthy. The next day went by smoothly, but that night just before getting ready for bed, I received a text from Coleman.

What are you doing right now? It read.

Why is he texting me? I wondered. It was 11 o'clock at night.

I'm just about to go to bed. I texted back.

I watched the three little dots move as I waited for his response.

Do you want to go to the gardens? The text read.

Me: In the middle of the night?

Coleman: It's the best time to go.

My heart pounded a bit at his words, excited by the idea of going to the gardens with him alone.

Me: Okay.

Me: Where should we meet?

Coleman: Servant's wing, door by the kitchen.

Me: Okay.

Ten minutes later I made my way to the servant's wing, and walked down the hallway towards our meetup point. I hadn't walked down that hall for at least a few months, yet it was still so familiar that it almost felt like home. I imagined myself in my old black and white uniform with the skirt that fanned out when I spun around. In spite of myself, I twirled right there in the hall, as if I had the maid uniform on still, and let the reminiscent memories wash over me.

I continued down the hall. In those days, Coleman and I had had such an antagonistic relationship. I was drawn to him like every other girl, but I fought my feelings and desire for him. Tonight, I just wanted to spend time with him freely. Perhaps it was the delirium of the night, but I felt like throwing caution to the wind and just seeing what would happen, come what may. If we were to share some sort of moment, like the many we'd had before, maybe I wouldn't stop it in its tracks this time. Maybe I'd let the momentum flow like a wave.

I reached the back door and found Coleman standing there with a black long-sleeved shirt and tan pants. He looked handsome as always, and he gave me a small, endearing smile. "Hello, Cassandra."